PAOK Salonika Udinese Odds : Italians lacking punch with Isla and Antonio Di Natale absent
Udinese will know they have a lot of work to do if they are to progress into the next stage of the Europa League when they travel to Greece to take on PAOK Salonika as 2/1 shots to take the spoils.
The Serie A side missed the chance to gain the upper hand in front of their own fans in the first leg, mustering only a 0-0 draw at the Stadio Friuli last Thursday.
That result left manager Francesco Guidolin frustrated at his team’s wasteful nature in front of goal – in all Udinese had 16 shots to their opponents five but still they could not beat goalkeeper Dario Kresic.
Since that game Udinese have struggled for form, losing back to back games against Milan and Fiorentina before registering a much needed win against Lecce over the weekend.
The fact that key duo Mauricio Isla and Antonio Di Natale have been missing may go some way to explaining Udinese’s inability to find the back of the net, but Di Natale returned to action to notch against relegation-threatened Lecce, and the creative midfielder will be key to his side’s chances of progressing to the last 16.
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Isla also returned to action and should be ready to start in Greece.
PAOK proved once more that despite their standing in the European game they remain a tough but to crack as they remain unbeaten in the competition having finished top of Group A with 12 points to reach the knockout round.
Few expected the Super League side to progress from a group containing former Champions League participants Tottenham and Rubin Kazan, let alone beat them both in to top spot.
However, they demonstrated their defensive resilience to beat Spurs at White Hart Lane and having kept a clean sheet in the first leg will be confident of progressing to the next stage.
A 0-0 draw with Aris in their only league encounter since their meeting with Udinese meant they lost even more ground in the Super League title race, with key midfielder Vladan Ivic missing the game, and the Serb may miss the second leg tie as well having also sat out the first game.
The Greek side are still unbeaten in the tournament and with Udinese’s lack of experience going forward have to be the shout at 7/5 to win at home.
